A partial zero-emission vehicle, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, is an automobile that has zero

evaporative emission Vehicle emissions control is the study of reducing the Exhaust gas, emissions produced by motor vehicles, especially internal combustion engines. Types of emissions Emissions of many Air pollution, air pollutants have been shown to have Environmen ...

s from its fuel system, has a 15-year (or at least 150,000-mile) warranty on its emission-control components, and meets

SULEV Super ultra-low emissions vehicle (SULEV) is a U.S. classification for passenger vehicle emissions. The classification is based on producing 90% fewer emissions than the average gasoline-powered vehicle. The SULEV standard is stricter than the stan ...

tailpipe-emission standards.

Definition and history

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, PZEVs have their own administrative category for low-emission vehicles. The category was made in a bargain between automakers and the

California Air Resources Board The California Air Resources Board (CARB or ARB) is the "clean air agency" of the government of California. Established in 1967 when then-governor Ronald Reagan signed the Mulford-Carrell Act, combining the Bureau of Air Sanitation and the Motor ...

(CARB), so that automobile makers could delay making mandated zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs)—battery

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

and

fuel-cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requi ...

electric vehicles. The super-ultra-low-emission vehicle (SULEV) standard is more stringent than the

ultra-low-emission vehicle An ultra-low-emission vehicle (ULEV) is a motor vehicle that emits extremely low levels of motor vehicle emissions compared to other vehicles. In some jurisdictions it is defined in law; low and ultra low emission vehicles may be given tax or oth ...

(ULEV) and

low-emission vehicle A low-emission vehicle is a motor vehicle that emits relatively low levels of motor vehicle emissions. The term may be used in a general sense, but in some countries it is defined in air quality statutes. Different groups of people ("go greens" ...

standards. All emissions-related components, including the electric-propulsion parts of

hybrid electric vehicle A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a type of hybrid vehicle that combines a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) system with an electric propulsion system ( hybrid vehicle drivetrain). The presence of the electric powertrain is intende ...

s, must be warranted for 15 years or 150,000 miles. Advanced Technology PZEVs (AT-PZEVs) are at least as "clean" as regular PZEVs. CARB also prepared a TZEV (Transitional ZEV, formerly Enhanced AT-PZEV) category for

plug-in hybrids A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid electric vehicle whose battery pack can be recharged by plugging a charging cable into an external electric power source, in addition to internally by its on-board internal combustion engin ...

(PHEVs) and

hydrogen vehicle A hydrogen vehicle is a vehicle that uses hydrogen fuel for motive power. Hydrogen vehicles include hydrogen-fueled space rockets, as well as ships and aircraft. Power is generated by converting the chemical energy of hydrogen to mechanical energ ...

s. (Not to be confused with Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles which are certified as ZEV or Zero Emission Vehicles.) In addition to the 15 year or 150,000 mile warranty (dependent on the automaker for warranty length) for zero evaporative (fuel system) emissions, and SULEV tailpipe emissions, PHEVs must also warranty their traction battery for 10 years or 150,000 miles. While PHEVs and hydrogen internal combustion engine vehicles exist, none meet this stringent standard. Except some hybrids and alternative-fuel vehicles, PZEVs do not inherently offer consumers any kind of incentives other than the extended emissions warranty. In particular, PZEV vehicles do not automatically qualify for the hybrid vehicle tax credit or for the "clean air vehicle" decal that used to allow hybrid car drivers to use car-pool lanes. PZEVs do, however, provide benefits to the originating automaker in the form of ZEV credits. Automakers must have a certain number of ZEV credits based on the number of vehicles they sell annually in California, with exceptions granted for small volume manufacturers. Without ZEV credits, automakers cannot sell in California. Automakers with excess credits can sell them. No automaker has ever missed compliance. Originally, PZEVs were available only in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, some dates regions near those states, and Canada. The six "clean-car states" had implemented California's motor-vehicle pollution-control rules. Other states soon began implementing these standards, including

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

, and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, and PZEVs are now widely available in the United States.

References

External links

*
Official California Government site
*

ACEEE The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization. Founded in 1980, ACEEE's mission is to act as a catalyst to advance energy efficiency policies, programs, technologies, investments, and behav ...

'
GreenerCars.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Partial Zero-Emissions Vehicle Emission standards Partial zero-emissions vehicles

Definition and history

See also

References

External links